West Orange defensive back Roman Tatum was told last Saturday by USF defensive back coach Rick Smith that he’d leave the Tampa campus with a smile on his face.

Smith was partially right.

The Bulls’ staff offered Tatum a scholarship after his performance at the Super Bull—a one-day camp for USF prospects—so he certainly had a reason to be happy.

But shortly after Tatum received his offer, two Class of 2013 cornerback prospects—Jacksonville First Coast’s Darius Whitty and Moultrie (Ga.) Colquitt County’s Johnny Ward—committed to USF while on campus.

The mixture of emotions Tatum felt prevented him from being all smiles.

“I really like USF, but I don’t want to commit and want to wait to see what I get,” Tatum said. “But when I saw those other two cornerbacks commit, I was like ‘Dang, I wish I was the one who committed.’ Now it’s like they have a spot, but if somebody else commits, all the spots will be full.”

Therein lies the dilemma Tatum is facing.

Does he commit to his favorite school? Or does he hold off, weigh his options and risk having another cornerback commit?

The Bulls will take only three cornerbacks in this recruiting class and currently have two pledges.

“USF is a great school and I’m pretty sure there are some kids out there thinking the same thing about USF,” Tatum said. “It’s making me feel like if I really want to be there, and I really do want to be at USF, but I want to keep my options open and see what else I get.”

The biggest threat to Tatum’s path to USF is likely Tampa Wharton’s Vernon Hargreaves III, who is widely considered the top cornerback in the nation. The Bulls are emerging as one of his favorites and his father, Vernon Hargreaves II, is an assistant coach at USF.

Tatum (5-10, 170) said his offer from USF is still committable.

He also has offers from FCS schools Alabama State and Wofford, and he is hoping that interest from East Carolina, FIU and FAU will eventually translate into more offers.

In the meantime, he will still consider committing to USF, but wants to make sure he’s 100 percent sold on the Bulls before he does.

“I don’t want to commit somewhere and then have to de-commit because I feel like that’s the best fit for me,” Tatum said. “I want to wait until I’m comfortable.”